3D puzzle Marusenko Sphere made with 3D printer

Jul.15, 2013

Spanish designers Aleksandr Marusenko and Felix Perez gave a presentation of their Marusenko Spheres on the Dutch Cube Day 2008 in Eindhoven and in 2011 their magnificious puzzle finally became available worldwide.

The spheres come in five different levels of difficulty with ten color schemes. The goal is to solve this three-dimensional puzzle using 9 different types of movements, including 2 meridional and perpendicular to each other, 1 equatorial and 6 polar.

When Marusenko Sphere's manufacturer, Spanish company Marusenko S.L. had completed the design phase they needed to decide whether using classic prototype models would be the best way forward. However due to the challenges of the toy's design and the mechanical complexities, additive manufacturing seems to be the best method to make the new toy.

The prototype of Marusenko Sphere consists of 54 pieces in total - 32 of them external. Perfect functionality requires the precise meshing of the sphere's mechanics and perfect fit between parts. Using an EOS FORMIGA P 100, a system that produces plastic products from polyamide from CAD data, the designers were able to make the first prototype of this complex toy. Next, after the first prototype was built, multiple trial and error tests were conducted in order to refine the mechanics until the final level of perfection was achieved.

3D printing allows the team to easily build all slightly varied prototypes and test the functionality.

"The partial realization of the sphere's constituent pieces was key to achieving the above mentioned commitment to perfect functionality. Of course, the partial realization, the mid-process adjustments and the possibility of both easily and quickly amending the single pieces could only be achieved with rapid prototyping." said EOS.

This intensive testing phase allows the company to start for batch fabrication very smoothly as only very minor changes had to be made.

Product development: final product of the 3D puzzle Marusenko Sphere manufactured by injection-moulding (right) and some single parts of the prototype which were produced with a FORMIGA P 100 (Source: Marusenko S.L.)

"Rapid prototyping in an additive process opened the doors to making our product – the all new educational 3D toy 'Marusenko' – ready for batch production, but more than that it was the only way to really create the product. Without that method it would have been impossible to build a fully working prototype at all." Victor Troyas, General Manager at Marusenko S.L.

News for lovers of mechanical puzzles! I finished the invention of four new toys puzzles. They go on a series of compact plastic puzzles. New unique mechanism and design. I’m looking for people willing to take over the organization of production. If this information is interesting — contact me. Alexander Marusenko.
cabeza@rambler.ru

Alexander Marusenko wrote at 7/22/2013 9:06:07 PM:

My name is Alexander Marusenko. I am the citizen of Ukraine and I am the inventor of “Marusenko Sphere” puzzle, which I invented on my own from 2003 till 2005.
The citizen of the EU, namely Spain, Don Perez Cabeza Felix Abdon disrupted my rights to intellectual property http://patentscope.wipo.int/search/en/WO2007028837. In a cheating way he owned my invention and the right to it. “Marusenko S. L.” Enterprise has been established illegally without my participation in Spain. My surname has been illegally used on the EU territory. The top management of the enterprise was informed about illegal usage of my invention by me in 2010.
Spanish enterprises such as “Palcan y Bin S.L.” and “Marusenko S.L.” do not react to my repeated appeals and continue using my intellectual property illegally. All mentioned above has brought me material and moral damage.
Alexander Marusenko
Telman Str., 61
Pology, Zaporizhzhya region
70607
Ukraine
E-mail: cabeza@rambler.ru
Phone number: +380662217598

Joe Larson wrote at 7/15/2013 10:42:20 PM:

Is it bad that I'm no longer excited by people using rapid prototype machines for rapid prototyping?

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